Local Man Arrested for Reckless Endangerment

An 18-year-old man has recently been arrested and charged with several crimes, including reckless endangerment, and is now facing charges in Ulster County. Read about the arrest and charges below, and contact a Goshen criminal defense attorney if you’re facing criminal charges in the Hudson Valley.

Arrest after failure to stop

On the morning of Saturday, April 7, 2018, Ulster County sheriff’s deputies noticed that a car traveling through the Barclay Heights neighborhood of Saugerties was exhibiting an equipment violation. The deputies attempted to pull over the vehicle, but instead, the driver pulled away and drove through the neighborhood at a high speed. Town police from Saugerties and Ulster assisted the sheriff’s deputies in locating and apprehending the man. He will now be charged with misdemeanor charges of reckless endangerment and reckless driving before the Saugerties Town Court.

Charges of Reckless Endangerment

When a driver is accused of driving at an excessive speed, that driver will typically face a simple traffic citation. However, when the driver is accused of traveling at a dangerously high speed, the charges they face can become much more serious.

New York courts can charge individuals with reckless endangerment when they act in a way that creates a risk of serious or mortal injury to someone else. Second-degree reckless endangerment charges, a misdemeanor, require proof that the accused person created a “substantial risk of serious physical injury to another person.” Examples of behaviors that have resulted in reckless endangerment charges include: firing a weapon in a public place, throwing objects out of a window or off a balcony, and physically interfering with a driver while they’re behind the wheel.

Proving reckless endangerment in the first degree requires showing that the suspect acted with “depraved indifference to human life.” Courts have convicted New York residents of first-degree reckless endangerment after shooting into someone’s bedroom window, shooting at houses from a vehicle when children were in the front yards of those homes, and attempting to ignite flammable liquid poured under the door of an apartment.

Penalties for reckless endangerment convictions

First-degree reckless endangerment is a Class D felony. If reckless endangerment is charged in the second degree, then it is classified as a Class A misdemeanor. The maximum available sentence for a first-degree reckless endangerment conviction is 7 years in prison. For reckless endangerment in the second degree, the maximum sentence is one year in jail. Those facing New York charges of reckless endangerment should take these charges seriously and consult a criminal defense attorney to discuss their options.

If you’re facing criminal charges in New York and need help protecting your criminal record and reputation, contact the dedicated, effective, and experienced Goshen criminal defense attorneys Dupée & Monroe at 845-294-8900.